


i think i'm ready (to let you get under my skin)

by falsealarm



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: F/F, Getting Together, Sharing a Bed
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-19
Updated: 2018-03-19
Packaged: 2019-04-04 18:18:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14025936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/falsealarm/pseuds/falsealarm
Summary: Zari isn’t upset, per se, because it sounds like Ava and Sara are having a great time together. And Sara deserves that, she deserves some nice time alone with her new attractive, angry girlfriend but it’s past Zari’s bedtime and falling asleep to the sound of muffled moans of pleasure is just not something she’s ever going to do.Which is how Amaya finds her playing video games on the floor of the library, her back pressed against the couch as she tries to aim her portal gun just so.[Post-episode 3.13]





	i think i'm ready (to let you get under my skin)

**Author's Note:**

> This fic loosely takes place somewhere after episode 3.13, I guess?? Sara and Ava have already hooked up at least once, Amaya has lost her totem and Ray is back on the ship. That's all you really need to know. Thank you the most to [pirateygoodness](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pirateygoodness/pseuds/pirateygoodness) for helping beta everything but the last like 1,000 words, I hope you like the end pal!
> 
> Title from Kimbra's "Two Way Street".

For a fancy time ship, the Waverider sure does have lousy soundproofing.

Zari isn’t upset, per se, because it sounds like Ava and Sara are having a great time together. And Sara deserves that, she deserves some nice time alone with her new attractive, angry girlfriend but it’s past Zari’s bedtime and falling asleep to the sound of muffled moans of pleasure is just not something she’s ever going to do.

Which is how Amaya finds her playing video games on the floor of the library, her back pressed against the couch as she tries to aim her portal gun just so. Amaya speaks just as she shoots and Zari’s finger twitches, her shot skewing far enough that Zari finds herself plunging back into the start of the level.

“What are you doing up?”

Zari breathes out slow, closes her eyes and tries not to let the sting of her video game failure tweak the tone of her voice. “Can’t sleep.”

“You want some tea?” Amaya’s propped herself in the doorway, both hands cradling a steaming mug. “I can make more if you’d like.”

“No, I’m not—I am actually  _ tired _ but I literally cannot sleep,” Zari leans back a little against the couch, waves her hand in the direction of the bunks, “Sara’s entertaining.”

“Ava’s still here?” Surprise alights Amaya’s face, followed by a soft smile, something like amusement shining in it.

“Still here, also  _ loud _ ,” Zari cranes her neck a little, tries to stifle a yawn with the back of her hand and catches sight of Amaya moving a little closer. She’s already dressed for bed, or at least close to it. The sweatshirt she’s got on looks familiar, the color close to something Sara wore a few days ago but baggier, like it might actually be from one of the boys. It bunches a little at her hips, and below that the straight line of her sweats peters down to socked feet. Zari’s too caught up in how  _ comfortable _ she looks, she doesn’t realize Amaya’s actually approaching her until she’s a few feet closer.

“You want me to stay, keep you company?”

The question is rhetorical because Amaya is halfway to the couch already, the fabric of her pajamas gently swishing as she settles herself onto the cushion behind Zari. She’s close enough that Zari can feel heat against her neck and as she readjusts to sit more upright the bend of Amaya’s knee finds Zari’s shoulder. But it’s not intrusive, Zari finds herself gently leaning back a little farther as she starts back in with her game.

It only takes two levels before Amaya starts playing with her hair. Zari feels something tug at the end of her ponytail, the gentle swish of hair against the back of her neck and then the brush of Amaya’s fingertips. This isn’t the first time this has happened and Zari hopes it’s far from the last. It only took a few weeks of knowing Amaya to realize that she expressed herself via touch and only a few weeks more to realize that the level of affection Zari personally received was more than any of the other Legends.

Logically, Zari knows this  _ means _ something. For a while she thought it had something to do with their totems, some kind of energy that Amaya felt attracted to but then Amaya had kissed her and well—Zari honestly still doesn’t know what to do with all the feelings attached to that. 

So instead she tries to focus on the game and lets the tingling warmth of Amaya’s playful ponytail twisting settle into her extremities.

It’s only another half hour before Zari can’t keep from yawning. Her eyelids have grown heavy and her eyes water every time she yawns which is making playing video games an awful lot harder than she’d like. When she misses four portal shots in a row she feels Amaya’s hand on her shoulder.

“Come on, let’s get you to bed.” Amaya’s hand is warm and her voice is quiet, almost a whisper in Zari’s ear.

“You think they’re done?”

“Oh, no,” Amaya says confidently, squeezing gently at Zari’s shoulder as she stands. “You can just sleep with me tonight.”

“I can—oh, that’s,” Zari feels heat up her neck, a fluttering in her belly, “are you sure?”

“Of course,” Amaya’s offering her hand, nodding her head as she yawns, “they won’t be done for a few hours anyways.”

Zari feels her face distort in disgust, there’s a difference between knowing vaguely what Sara’s doing and knowing that Sara  _ can go for hours _ . “Ugh, gross,” Zari huffs as she reaches up for Amaya’s hand, letting herself be pulled as she pushes up from the ground. Gideon switches off the screen and the lights for them as they depart, Amaya’s hand lingering in Zari’s until they’re out in the hall.

They get halfway to Amaya’s bunk before Zari realizes she doesn’t have pajamas. She could risk a run back to her bunk but she’d like to be able to look Ava in the face again tomorrow and with what she’s heard already, any additional exposure might make that hard to do. “I don’t have anything to sleep in,” Zari says as the door to Amaya’s bunk swishes open.

“I’ve got plenty.” Amaya’s already moving to a chest of drawers at the side of the room. She pulls open the third drawer and starts rifling through, pulling out a small stack of navy clothing that Zari vaguely recognizes. 

Zari takes the proffered clothes then pauses, eyes narrowing slightly as she watches Amaya’s gaze briefly flicker down to her totem then back up. There’s a familiarity in the sudden shift in her expression, the light draining briefly before being replaced with something a little forced. Zari feels the urge to reach up and grasp her totem but she stops herself, clutches at the fabric instead. The moment is fleeting, then gone entirely as Amaya suggests:

“You can change here, I need to wash up.” Then she’s out the door again, Zari left holding her pajamas against her stomach, the weight of her totem a little heavier against her chest.

She gets changed quickly. The pants are a little tight on her thighs and the shirt a shade too short, a sliver of skin showing at her waist as she buttons the final button. She smooths her hands over the fabric, following the thin white lines of the pinstripe before tugging at the bottom of the shirt to hide her stomach but there’s no use. These pajamas are deceptively comfortable, the fabric soft and warm, and even though they’re a little tight Zari understands why Amaya wears them. She pads to the bathroom in socked feet, finds Amaya splashing water on her face to rinse off the suds of her face wash and when she stands up they lock eyes in the mirror. 

Amaya’s eyes seem brighter somehow and Zari can’t seem to look away, keeps watching until Amaya smiles and brings a towel up to dry her face. Before she can get lost again Zari moves to the basin beside Amaya, setting up at the next closest tap and reaching to grab her toothbrush from its designated spot amongst the rest of the crew’s. It’s sparkly purple with soft bristles and Zari loads it up with toothpaste, suddenly self-conscious about her breath. She gets two brushes in before she locks eyes with Amaya in the mirror again but she ducks the contact, instead looks at the shining metal of the tap in front of her, the gentle slope of the basin. The bubbles from Amaya’s face wash sit atop the drain, slowly popping as gravity takes its toll and Zari is busy watching them intently when Amaya shuffles a little closer to her.

Their hips meet softly and Amaya reaches out to run a finger against the sliver of visible skin at Zari’s hip. “Too small?”

“S’okay,” Zari says around her toothbrush, trying valiantly not to choke on her own spit as Amaya strokes at the skin again. It’s light enough that it almost tickles and Zari has to resist shivering, feels instead a blooming heat between her legs—a heat that by now has started to become familiar.

“I like it,” Amaya reaches for her own toothbrush, applies the toothpaste, “I like you in my clothes.”

Then she’s brushing. The only sounds in the bathroom the gentle bubbly swish of brush against teeth and Zari returns her attention to the tap, focuses on brushing her molars like they’ve never been brushed before.

She only does a quick wash of her own face, a little cleanser and mostly cold water as Amaya finishes up brushing her own teeth. With her face buried in a towel, Zari imagines the flash of Amaya’s smile as she’d stroked the skin of Zari’s hip. The casual intimacy Amaya has introduced between them is something Zari’s never experienced before, something she didn’t actually think she would be into. All her life Zari has floated in a kind of non-sexual ether. Her attraction to other people had always felt more like admiration than anything but with Amaya things are different. Amaya makes her feel things she’s never felt before, chemically and emotionally, and sometimes it’s overwhelming but then Amaya smiles at her and the world softens.

They spot Mick on the way back to Amaya’s room, slipping into the kitchen with an empty beer bottle in hand but he doesn’t spot them. They still tiptoe the rest of the way though and as soon as the door to the bunk closes Amaya starts pulling off her sweatshirt. Underneath she’s wearing just a tank top, loose at her stomach but tight against her breasts and there’s just  _ so much collarbone _ going on that Zari can barely look at her.

“What side of the bed do you want?”

Zari wonders if Amaya knows that she keeps asking rhetorical questions.

Because this isn’t the first or even the second time they’ve shared a bed and yet, every time, the same question. So Zari points at the side closest to them and Amaya nods, smiles, “good, I like sleeping against the wall.”

Zari’s quiet “I know” is swallowed by the sound of Amaya pulling pillows from her bed, tossing a few on the chest next to it and rearranging more against the wall. The bulk of Amaya’s bed is a nest of pillows in varying shapes and sizes all covered in soft fabrics and vaguely bohemian designs. It’s probably the coziest place on the entire ship besides Zari’s own room, not that Zari’s thought about it before.

With a practiced ease, Amaya makes the bed into a viable sleeping space for two people. She lifts up the covers and slides herself in, patting the bed next to her and Zari follows after without thinking.

The thread count of Amaya’s sheets is sensational, because of course it is. 

Sliding into bed next to Amaya feels like the most luxurious thing Zari has done in weeks—and she ate dark chocolate mousse for dessert three days in a row last week. She tries to keep a little space between herself and Amaya but the pillows against the wall have only given them just enough space to lay, a move Zari thinks might have been on purpose when Amaya resettles a little closer to her. There’s heat all along Zari’s side, radiating out from Amaya and Zari tries her best to ignore it, stares up at the ceiling as Amaya tells Gideon to turn off the lights.

In the dark, Amaya feels even closer. Not being able to see her properly has only served to add mystery to her position and when Zari feels her move again—an elbow glancing against Zari’s ribs as she goes—Zari can’t tell where she is at all.

“How long were you playing that game anyways?”

The breath against Zari’s cheek is warm and minty fresh and Zari feels herself jolt in place, quickly mumbles, “what?”

“In the library, how long were you in there?”

Warmth again, this time hitting Zari’s jaw and the curve of her neck as the swallows. “Maybe an hour before you got there, I probably should’ve left my room an hour before that though.”

“Were they really that bad?”

“Not  _ bad _ ,” Zari says quickly, “like I’m happy for them but I didn’t need to hear  _ everything _ .”

“Everything?”

Zari closes her eyes tight, remembering the various sounds she heard coming through her wall, “it’s gonna be a while before I can look Ava in the eye again, I’ll say that.”

Beside her Amaya chuckles, the movement shaking the bed but also bringing Amaya a little closer against her. Zari feels something warm pressed against her hip, feels it move and recognizes the bend of fingers, knuckles gently tracing the outer seam of her pants. “Sara’s very good at what she does.”

Zari blinks once, twice—

“Or so I’ve heard.”

—then lets out a breath, the sudden and almost blinding implication that Amaya may have at one point hooked up with their captain sending a slew of images flooding into the forefront of Zari’s mind. And they’re not, the idea of it isn’t disgusting because two consenting adults can do whatever they please with each other but if Zari wants to keep seeing Sara as her friend and captain she needs to push any thoughts of her  _ giving Amaya orgasms  _ far into the recesses of her mind.

“Hey, Zari.”

The silence between them has lingered a little longer, enough so that if she wanted to Zari could probably pretend to be asleep but Amaya’s still gently rubbing at the outside of her thigh and Zari couldn’t even pretend to sleep if she wanted to. “Yeah?”

“Remember the last time you were here?”

_ The last time. _ Another rhetorical question.

What Zari remembers most about the last time is the feeling of Amaya’s lips against the corner of her mouth. The pressure of Amaya’s chest against her shoulder. A hand on the curve of her hip.

Last time had been at the tail end of a mission, both of them bodily exhausted but too wired to sleep. For hours they’d talked about the mission itself and their totems, because Zari had finally gotten the hang of flying. Not enough to properly rocket through the air but it was certainly more than the jolted bursts of propelled levitation she’d done in the past. The look of pride on Amaya’s face after she’d landed—and after they’d knocked out the remaining baddies—had been sheer delight. The thumping in Zari’s heart had mostly been from the adrenaline but Amaya’s smile had done a number on her too.

Their journey to sleep had taken several hours and at the end of it all Zari had found herself on top of the sheets and several pillows, half-pressed against Amaya’s side. Zari likes to pretend their proximity was the only reason Amaya had kissed her goodnight. It was a half-asleep press of lips, aim off but pressure just a hair too strong to be a mistake. Falling asleep  _ after  _ that had been a trial and now, with Amaya’s hand gently creeping along the skin of her hip, Zari imagines tonight might be similar.

Finally, Zari answers in the affirmative, a quiet “yes” whispered between them.

It’s answer enough for Amaya to move, leaning in much the same as she did last time but her aim is true, her lips pressing gently to Zari’s own in an action that feels far too soft for Zari’s liking as she pulls back.

The hammering of her heartbeat muffles Amaya’s voice but still Zari hears, “goodnight.”

Amaya shifts to lie on her back, the hand at Zari’s hip retreating. Tonight, Zari imagines, Amaya will sleep like the dead. Zari hopes the pounding of her own heart doesn’t slam her straight through the mattress.

 

\---

 

When she wakes, Zari feels warm and rested and ...something soft against her cheek. She breathes out when she opens her eyes, sees a familiar pattern of fabric, the skin of Amaya’s shoulder. Beneath her Zari  _ hears _ a steady thump, the rhythm of Amaya’s heart filling the slowly waking parts of Zari’s mind.

She has the urge to press her lips to the skin of Amaya’s chest, to whisper a quiet good morning and cuddle closer but mostly she has the urge to push herself out of bed, away from the troublesome position her unconscious self has gotten her into. But before she has the chance to do anything she feels pressure at the top of her head as Amaya  _ kisses _ her hair.

Then she whispers a quiet, “Good morning.”

The sound of her voice is muffled against Zari’s head and Zari hears Amaya breathe in after, feels her chest rise and fall. She can also feel the movement against her stomach and forearm, realizes she doesn’t just have her head against Amaya’s chest but is pressed into her side, an arm slung across her belly. A blossoming heat flutters in Zari’s chest, the edges of it tickling against her stomach she flexes her fingers and feels Amaya smile against her head.

Her voice is a little grumbly with disuse when she speaks, the first half of her greeting gets stuck in her throat and she only manages a slurred, “Morning.”

“This is nice.” Again, the soft voice, words spoken into Zari’s hair and this time there’s a different movement attached to it, the warm press of Amaya’s hand on the small of Zari’s back.

Zari can’t keep herself from smiling, from answering, “yeah, it is.”

For a second the world seems to stop and Zari feels a small rush of endorphins tingling through her system as the fingers of Amaya’s hand flex ever so gently. Zari feels contact against her skin—her shirt seemingly rucked up in her sleep—as Amaya’s index finger traces the line of her spine. The shiver she gets after it is full-body, strong enough that it makes Amaya smile wider but also strong enough that it wakes Zari’s stomach.

The growl that erupts from within her is an angry tear, ravenous and menacing and Zari feels shame and embarrassment flood her body like a poison. But then Amaya’s laughing against her hair, her body shaking under Zari’s head.

“I think that means it’s time for breakfast.”

Getting out of bed is easier once Zari realizes how hungry she is but still she’s cold without the heat of Amaya’s body pressed against her. Amaya seems to notice, or maybe she feels the same, because as soon as they’re standing Zari is handed a sweatshirt. It’s the one Amaya was wearing before bed yesterday and it still smells like her and it’s warm, like maybe it’s been sitting in front of a heating vent. Zari pulls it over her head, leaving the hood up as she shoves both hands into the front pocket and rolls her shoulders, breathing out as her torso slowly starts to warm.

Behind her Amaya is pulling on a sweater, one she recognizes as something she’d seen Nate wear a few times and when she looks down at her own sweatshirt again she realizes it’s definitely Ray’s. But it still  _ smells _ like Amaya, earthy and a little sweet, so the original owner doesn’t really matter.

Leaving Amaya’s room brings Zari back into the noisy workings of real life. Down the hall she can hear Mick already watching tv, can hear the echo of Nate singing in the shower and behind it all the Waverider’s steady hum. She shoves her hands a little tighter into her pocket, shuffling along with Amaya at her side and wishes beyond hope that they’ll at least have the kitchen all to themselves.

And thankfully, it is empty. There are dishes in the sink too, enough that it looks like everyone else has eaten and for the first time since she woke up Zari wonders how long she slept. Her body is still slowly waking, the comfort of a good night’s rest still lingering in her muscles. The Waverider’s internal clock reads nearly 11am which means she and Amaya must have slept for at least nine hours, the most sleep Zari has gotten in weeks.

Amaya’s already at the fabricator, punching in what Zari suspects is something like oatmeal or bran cereal and sure enough seconds later Amaya is pulling out a bowl of something that smells suspiciously healthy. Zari’s turn at the fabricator gets her a stack of pancakes with maple syrup, chocolate sauce, whipped cream  _ and _ bananas. The height of which causes Amaya’s eyes to widen when she sees it but Zari barely notices her reaction, her sights set on conquering her breakfast.

Halfway through the stack Zari’s appeased just enough of her hunger that the rest of the world comes into view again. Beside her Amaya has already finished her own breakfast and is sipping her coffee. She smiles at Zari over the lip of her mug when they catch eyes and Zari feels her heart drop into her stomach.

She looks especially beautiful this morning, still sleep-rumpled in all the best ways. She’s also sitting close enough to Zari that their knees are touching and the longer Zari looks at her the more it feels like Amaya might actually be scooting closer. There’s a moment too, small and quick, where Amaya’s eyes glance down to Zari’s mouth and suddenly Zari’s stomach is a flurry of butterflies, beating rampant and whirling against the rest of her organs.

The butterflies feel more like a push this time, urging Zari forward. But as Zari feels herself tipping in Amaya’s direction Ray comes swanning in through the kitchen door.

“You two got a late start.”

He’s inside and to the sink before Zari can even manage to scowl at his sudden presence. Beside her Amaya turns, knees bumping then dragging along Zari’s thigh as she turns to greet Ray.

“Had some trouble sleeping,” she says simply before a hand smooths against the top of Zari’s thigh.

The sneer in Zari’s lip softens, her eyes moving from Ray to her thigh then quickly to Amaya who’s smiling past her at Ray—

“You know chamomile tea,” Ray starts and Zari hears Amaya say the words the same time he does, nodding all the while. Zari feels herself smiling, a laugh slipping out as Amaya continues his sentence for him:

“Does wonders for a good night’s sleep.”

“Exactly!” Ray says with a knowing head nod and a bright smile.

Zari tries to stifle the rest of her laughter with the back of her hand as Amaya gently squeezes her thigh, her smile now squarely pointed at Zari. The edges of it are curling in a mischievous way that makes Zari want to kiss it smooth. 

“I think Sara wants us in the library soon,” Ray starts, hand up to his ear to press his comm, “Sara do you still want us in the library at noon?” A beat. “Noon thirty,” Ray corrects.

“Cool,” Zari says, eyes still half-focused on Amaya’s mouth. “Plenty of time for Amaya and I to get ready.” Then quietly, only loud enough for Amaya to hear, Zari says, “I left something in your room, can you come with me to get it?”

Amaya nods, says a quiet “of course” before standing and sweeping both Zari’s and her own plates from the table with a practiced ease. “Could you wash these for us, Raymond?”

“Definitely,” he answers, smile still bright. “Remember, library in an hour.”

Zari’s already up from her seat but she waits until Amaya’s at her side to start moving. She feels like she might be walking too fast. Her heartbeat is starting to pick up a little, the fluttering in her stomach starting to get more fervent the closer they get to Amaya’s bunk.

Inside, Amaya is the first to speak, eyes searching the space behind Zari, “so what did you forget?”

“Oh, I didn’t—,” Zari pauses, takes a small step forward to put herself back into Amaya’s space, laughs through a small smile, “I didn’t actually forget anything. I just, I wanted to kiss you but Ray was there so that would’ve been weird.”

The smile Amaya beams at her is glorious, beautiful and actually so intimidating that all the confidence Zari had left in her kind of melts. But she’s close enough that she can still follow through so she leans in, lips brushing against Amaya’s in a kiss that’s far more tentative than she means it to be.

When she pulls back Amaya looks pleased but not as pleased as Zari had hoped she would be. Zari stammers a soft “shit, hold on” before closing her eyes and breathing out slow, focusing on smashing down the fluttering anxiety tugging in the pit of her stomach.

She’s leaning in to kiss Amaya again within seconds. Properly this time, with all the right pressure and good lip placement and she  _ feels _ Amaya’s body react to this kiss. Feels Amaya reach for her hand and smile against her mouth.

This kiss lasts a little longer too, is followed by a second that’s softer and makes Zari’s body feel warm and tingly in all the best ways. When she pulls away Amaya’s still got her eyes closed and Zari feels proud.  _ That _ was definitely the reaction she was going for.

“Okay, that was the kiss I wanted to give you. Not the other one, just, remember the second one.”

Amaya chuckles, opens her eyes and smiles bright and brilliant, “that first one was cute though.”

Zari can’t believe every single one of Amaya’s smiles makes her feel like a puddle of melted jello. She’s never going to get used to it. “Was not.”

“Definitely cute,” Amaya’s eyes flick down to Zari’s mouth as she squeezes her hand, trying to urge Zari closer to her. Zari follows blindly, meeting Amaya’s lips in a kiss that’s sweet and firm and just sharp enough that Zari feels it all the way down to her toes.

Zari’s free hand has already found Amaya’s waist. Softly fisted in fabric it’s not doing much more than giving Zari something to hold on to but when Amaya’s tongue swipes at Zari’s bottom lip she finds herself gripping harder. The change urges Amaya forward a little and when their hips connect Zari hears a gentle noise sound from the back of Amaya’s throat, feels it thrum a little between her legs too. Amaya smiles again, kisses Zari harder and slips her own free hand into the hood of Zari’s sweatshirt, fingers teasing at the half-braided mess of Zari’s hair.

“Oh,” Zari hears herself say against Amaya’s mouth because she had forgotten all about her hood. She pulls back a little, reaching up to tug the hood down and Amaya follows her mouth, slides her fingers a little higher into Zari’s hair.

“Thank you,” Amaya whispers a few seconds later between kisses.

“For what?” Zari’s answer is swallowed by another kiss then Amaya pulls back, moves to kiss along the length of Zari’s jaw. Her hand drops to the side of Zari’s neck as she answers, mouth at Zari’s ear:

“For better access.” Then she’s kissing lower, mouthing at the skin of Zari’s neck, wet and unhurried.

This time Zari hears herself groan, broken into pieces punctuated by each kiss to her neck. Both Zari’s hands flex in response, the one still in Amaya’s receives a return squeeze as Amaya nuzzles at the underside of Zari’s jaw.

“Your skin is so soft,” Amaya whispers, her voice a low vibration against Zari’s pulse point.

“I moisturize,” is the surprising answer that Zari gives, her mind too fogged up by endorphins to think of anything other than a flat truth.

Amaya chuckles against her neck, “I appreciate it.”

Then she’s kissing back up, her mouth leaving Zari tingling head to toe as she makes her way back to Zari’s mouth. Zari shows her own appreciation by copying something Amaya had done earlier: swiping her tongue against Amaya’s bottom lip. The reaction she gets is another noise of what Zari assumes is approval then Amaya’s mouth  _ opening _ in what Zari imagines is an invitation.

It’s at this point Zari realizes how long it’s been since she kissed someone this heavily. Not since she was a teenager did another person’s mouth feel this inviting and even then Zari had found the inclusion of tongues possibly the grossest part of kissing. But with Amaya pressed against her, a hand scratching gently at Zari’s scalp, Zari thinks she might actually  _ love _ kissing with tongues. Her exploration is tentative at first, teasing at Amaya’s lips until Amaya’s own tongue moves out to meet hers. The surge of heat she feels at that first touch sends her spiralling into a series of reactionary, mirrored movements. She mimics Amaya’s tongue for bit—learning what to do, where to go, how much pressure—and when she thinks she’s got the basics down she tries something different.

Sucking on Amaya’s tongue pulls a guttural noise from within her. Zari feels it between her legs, in the clench of both Amaya’s hands and the shiver up her spine. She’s almost stunned frozen afterwards and Zari feels a little proud of herself, catching Amaya off-guard like that. Amaya’s pause also gives Zari a moment to think, to strategize and she decides on movement: the hand fisted in Amaya’s sweater skirting up to cup her neck while her mouth begins to travel.

Mouthing along Amaya’s jaw is a bit of a fumble, Zari moving perhaps too eagerly from one space to the next but Amaya doesn’t seem to mind. She even cranes her neck as Zari continues moving, baring the clean line of it in encouragement of Zari’s decision. The skin of Amaya’s neck is soft too and warm beneath Zari’s already hot mouth. She kisses first, down the length the slowly back up, tongue lapping gentle circles wherever her mouth falls. Above her, Amaya moans again. The hand Amaya has in Zari’s hair squeezes a little tighter, blunt fingernails skating Zari’s scalp and urging her mouth closer.

The word  _ hickey _ flashes across Zari’s mind as Amaya moans again. It starts soft and fluttery but as soon as Zari fastens her lips to Amaya’s neck and starts sucking it peaks high in Amaya’s throat. She doesn’t suck for long, is too afraid of maybe hurting Amaya to go for it properly but when she pulls back there’s a bit of redness to Amaya’s skin. The redness does look sore though so Zari takes extra time to run her tongue against it before kissing up to the crook of Amaya’s jaw.

In the midst of making her way back to Amaya’s mouth Gideon’s voice sounds above them: “Miss Jiwe, Miss Tomaz, Captain Lance requires your attendance in the library in five minutes.”

Zari’s startled enough that she jumps a little, looking up to the ceiling as if Gideon is in fact floating above them somehow—but of course she isn’t. Their five minute warning usually comes from Ray but neither of them have their comms on so apparently he had recruited Gideon to find them.

“We’re on our way,” Amaya says, voice a little breathy.

“We are?”

Amaya leans back while Zari straightens up enough that they can look each other in the eye. Her smile is tender as she smooths a hand along Zari’s cheek then leans in to press a kiss to her mouth, soft and lingering. “We are,” she confirms.

“Just because Sara’s the captain doesn’t mean we have to do what she says.” Zari’s shoulders bunch, her brows furrowing as sneers at the door to Amaya’s bunk.

“Actually, that’s exactly what it means,” Amaya laughs before stepping back and putting a little space between them. Zari misses the heat of her instantly, keeps hold of Amaya’s hand to make sure she doesn’t pull away entirely. “But we can continue this afterwards if you’d like.” A gentle squeeze accompanies Amaya’s proposal and Zari looks down to their joined hands then back up.

“I would like,” Zari says before her eyes catch sight of the hickey at Amaya’s neck, a little darker than Zari thought she’d left it. She feels guilt creep up the back of neck as she reaches up to rub at the skin gently. “You um, might need a scarf or something.”

Amaya’s eyes alight for a moment, confusion then realization dawning as she brings a hand up to cover Zari’s then nudge it aside to feel at her skin herself. She traces the outline of the hickey perfectly, following the raised edges of the swelling and smiles, shaking her head. “Switch me.”

“Switch you what?” But Amaya is already tugging at the hem of Zari’s sweatshirt and Zari, despite feeling a twinge of heat low in her belly, gets the idea. The hood of the sweatshirt covers up the hickey well enough if it’s piled up properly and only if Amaya doesn’t move too suddenly. “You think they’ll notice?”

“Probably not,” Amaya says through her teeth, as much of a lie as Zari thinks Amaya has ever told her. Zari doesn’t think the boys will notice but she is completely certain that Sara will. Amaya probably realizes that too but there’s nothing they can really do about it now.

“Ready?” Amaya asks, fidgeting with her hood again. Zari smooths her hands down the front of Amaya’s sweater before tugging at the sleeves a little to straighten them out. 

“I guess,” Zari says, her answer smothered by a kiss as Amaya surges forward. She’s caught enough off-guard that Amaya has to tug her free from her spot as she starts to move.

When she finally opens her eyes, Zari’s met with another one of Amaya’s smiles. It’s radiant as the morning sun and Zari thinks—briefly and with precisely the correct amount of earnest longing—that she would love nothing more but to spend the rest of her life chasing it.


End file.
